The widely acknowledged contribution of NGOs to multilateral processes is no less important to disarmament and security concerns, even though NGOs point to evidence that some “governments continue to jealously guard their prerogatives when it comes to decision-making about weapons and weapons reduction.” Even so, NGOs have been heavily engaged, and “as the global security debate moves from being simply defined in traditional national security/arms control terms to concerns about `human security', the types of NGOs and the nature of their involvement also broadens and deepens.”
Aun así, se ha recabado muchísimo la participación de las ONG, y a medida que el debate sobre la seguridad mundial se define menos en los términos tradicionales de la seguridad nacional y la limitación de los armamentos y más en términos de la seguridad humana, también aumentan los tipos de ONG y el carácter e intensidad de su participación.